In the 16th century, a German inventor named Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing press that used movable type. He felt that this invention was divinely inspired, since he recognized immediately what it would do. It made it easier, faster, and far cheaper to print books. Gutenberg's main business was printing Bibles, but other less pious men found it also made popular novels, political manifestos, and newspapers cheaper to print, too.

Enter the publsiher.

Gutenberg may have seen that his invention would put Holy Scripture in the hands of everyday men and women (which it did) but we are also seeing that it put junk mail, ads, and all sorts of celebrity rags into those same hands.

The people who lived around the time of Gutenberg did not truly appreciate his invention as much as he did. They lacked the vision, perhaps, or they were unable to see what it would mean to have books transformed from luxury items to commodities.

The same thing has happened today, and you might not realize it. The Internet has changed publishing.

Gutenberg made books and newspapers cheaper, but you still needed a printing press, you still had to have a pressman to set the type, and you still had to buy paper. Then you had to print the books or papers and figure out a way to distribute them. Newspaper and books got cheaper, but you still needed some money to be a publisher. The system revolved around wealthy people playing the role of publisher.

Today, a 12-year-old kid with a computer sitting in Nairobi can be a publisher. So can an old lady in Boise, Idaho or a political extremist in Brazil. So can a business, so can a school teacher, and so can you.

The Internet has made it possible for ordinary people to publish. Granted, it is still hard work and you need to keep on top of things, but one person with a computer now has the reach of a network like CNN or NBC. More people visit YouTube in a day than read the New York Times (even Sunday).

Publishing has changed. Politicians are already using it and talking about the shift. Business is wising up.

Writers need to know, too.

Here's why. Up until now, writers have worked for publishers. That meant that writers had to sell their wares to publishers, who may or may not have bought them. Publishers often modified them in a process they euphemistically called editing. Writers got what publishers paid, which was rarely very generous. Writers also had to deliver what publishers wanted. A lot of writers have spent a career writing stuff they don't care about. Some writers (me included) have seen their byline attached to things they never wrote or felt comfortable stating in print. (That's because publishers would sometimes change articles but not the byline!)

However, writers with Internet skills can now be publishers. Publishers are going the way of typesetters. As a writer, whether your interest is judicial reform or growing roses in Zone 9, you can publish on that topic. You can develop entire sites, if you want, for some time and a few bucks.

Most writers think that's a crazy idea. After all, who is going to pay? If the publishers are all going the way of the dinosaur, how is a writer going to make money?

There are numerous ways for writers to find not only creative freedom but economic reward by becoming Internet writers.

First of all, the Internet is the biggest shopping mall on earth. Anyone can get a storefront right on the main hallway. Just set up a site and sign up with a shopping cart service.

Oh, well, if you're a writer, you are probably saying that you don't want to be selling ceiling fans or cooking knives online. (Actually, catalog writing is an under-appreciated art! Imagine a well-written sales website. Wow!)

Okay, think like a publisher. Why not publish your own books, how-to guides, manuscripts, and other materials online? You can actually sell them. There is a whole cottage industry of e-book providers. The cool thing about an e-book is that you can write one, get the sales site going, and then walk away. I know e-book authors who have had one book continue to generate strong sales for seven years in a row (and is still going). Will you make a million bucks on an e-book the first year? No. You probably won't make a million bucks on one e-book ever. But if making a few hundred a month, year over year, isn't appealing, then think of doing that a dozen times with a dozen different e-books.

Another angle is to think like a publisher and sell advertising. A popular site with lots of visitors can sell ad space, banners, or sign up for a very easy-to-use program with Google called AdSense. It's the same principal that magazines, newspapers, and network television works on: content is provided free (or at minimal cost) and advertisers buy time to capture eyeballs that are looking at the free high-quality content.

Writers are seeing the publishing world (and even the broadcast world) change before their eyes. The doors are opening up to anyone who cares to be a publisher or network producer.

But even as doors are now open wide, some writers are wandering around, seeking out old-fashioned ink-and-paper publishers, wondering why so many of the old-fashioned magazines are gone.

Other writers are exploring the exciting new terrain that has just opened up: the Internet. Writers really can make a living there. But you have to be willing to be a bit of a pioneer and learn how to build a website.